Shower Trouble - which one to choose?

TimBuckTeeth

sparky40 wrote: »

I take it a power shower will heat the water in the same way an electric shower does? i.e there doesnt have to be hot water there in the tank all the time?

No, they do not heat the water, they are just a pump. Eg, the one linked to in the post above.
Here is a nice internal diagram of a power shower :
http://showerdoc.co.uk/shower-spares/triton/as1000-power-shower.html

If a shower has an electric heater built in it will have a high power rating quoted eg. 10kW.

G-wizz_2

We have a built-in shower attached to a pump (on the third floor of a high-ceilinged house). The pump is in the airing cupboard just through the wall from the shower, and the water pressure is amazingly good - the most powerful shower I've ever been in.

As far as noise goes, it makes a low whirring sound while the shower is on, but is much quieter than, say, a spinning washing machine, and has never bothered me (bedroom one side of the bathroom) or my sister (other side) in the slightest.

sparky40

We think we have decided to go with an electric shower as we would prefare to have the hot water as and when we want it, rather than having to wait for the tank to heat.

However, after reading another post on the board, someone mentioned that their electric shower kept cutting off due to low water pressure and this is now a concern. Is there any way in which your water pressure can be measured and is there a particular pressure that an electric shower wont work under?

This is the shower we have been looking at:

http://www.aqualisa.co.uk/Our-products/Browse-showers-by-range/Quartz-Collection/Quartz-Electric/105kW-adjustable-height-head---graphitechrome/?area=202

We have been told that this is a good brand and as I said we have found a few but like the look of this one.

jamie30gb

In the 19 years of fitting and selling bathrooms i would only recomend electric showers if you must have them as they are less powerfull.
http://www.aqualisa.co.uk/Our-products/Browse-showers-by-range/Visage-Digital/
Please have a look at this one it is so much better and not much more in price and would be easyer for the installer to fit.
and you get wet in this one where as the electric showers i have seen you have to run round to catch the drips in the winter.
electric showers most of them require min 1 bar pressure.

sparky883

The new Electric shower will perform the same as the old one or any one weather £40 or £400-You have a certain Flow/Pressure coming in and thats what comes out,If your cold water pressure is good then you will be Alright

sparky40

Thanks Jamie,

We have decided on electric as we dont want to have to wait on the hot water to heat before having a shower. We were toying with the idea of changing to a combi boiler but we still have the problem of not enough water pressure to have a decent shower.
Digital showers seem good but quite expensive as I have seen a nice triton one for £189

http://www.shower-spares.co.uk/buy_online/triton/inscriptions_black_granite.htm

Is there any way we can measure the water pressure so we have a better idea of what to look at??

TimBuckTeeth

The current problem with low water pressure in the bathroom is because it is just gravity fed from the storage tank in the loft.
The cold tap in the kitchen is connected direct to the mains water supply rather than the storage tank. If the pressure from this tap is good then the water supply pressure is fine for a combi boiler or an electric shower.

You can buy a pressure meter, if unsure or it seems low :
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/mains-pressure-test-kit/path/
Check the shower specifications for the minimum required pressure.

If the mains pressure is good then a combi boiler will be the best option, although expensive, giving a higher flow rate than an electric shower.

A powerful (10.5kW) electric shower will give a better flow rate than a less powerful one. The heater in an electric shower always runs at full power and by adjusting the temperature control the water temperature is increased by slowing the flow of water through it, a lower power heater needs the water to be slowed more to allow it time to heat - giving a lower flow rate.

happyhero

I have installed a few electric showers and have a water pressure gauge tester like TimBuckTeeth suggests from here
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/82412/Hand-Tools/Plumbing-Tools/Pressure-Test-Equipment/Monument-Tools-Mains-Water-Pressure-Test-Gauge

It is very simple to use, just find a suitable tap on the mains water supply ie not a tap from the tank, and connect it. The connection it seems to fit easiest is an outside tap which is normally on mains pressure but otherwise you have to get inventive to make it fit other connections. I think it may also fit a washing machine connection.

Most of the electric showers I have fitted stipulate a minimum of 1 bar. Below this they would give low pressure problems quite easily especially if somone turned on another tap in the house. If you only have 1 bar (as read from the gauge/tester) I would not bother with an electric shower as they give a poor shower. What you would want is anything above 2 bar, then they are ok.

If you read up on some of the electric showers and power showers you will probably find some comparisons and the one I came across said that an electric shower will give about 4 litres per minute whereas a power shower will give about 14 litres per minute so a noticeable difference. This must be assuming some average of about 3 bar going in I assume.

I have just fitted a Triton in someones house and was amazed to find they had 5.5bar which is one of the highest I have come across, yet when on hot it did not give anything amazing in a shower, quite adequate but definitely not amazing, I would have expected more from 5.5 bar. It was an 8.5kW by the way.

Hope I have been of some help.

I have a combi boiler by the way and a aqualiser quartz which is great, looks good and good pressure but never enough pressure for me. I love the combi boiler, instant hot water for as long as you want to stand in the shower and it did away with my tanks and copper cylinder so loads of room gained, pressure is good but I would still love more.

TimBuckTeeth

happyhero wrote: »

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I have just fitted a Triton in someones house and was amazed to find they had 5.5bar which is one of the highest I have come across, yet when on hot it did not give anything amazing in a shower, quite adequate but definitely not amazing, I would have expected more from 5.5 bar. It was an 8.5kW by the way.
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As the temperature control on the shower is turned up the flow rate and pressure is reduced by the regulator valve partly closing. So adjusting for the same temperature (eg. 35C) a higher inlet pressure does not give a higher shower pressure, it should be the same whether 2 bar or 5 bar inlet pressure.
The only time a higher inlet pressure would be noticable at the shower head is when the temperature is set fully to cold.
A 10.5kW shower will give a better flow and pressure than a 8.5kW one.
As long the water supply is always sufficiently above the minimum pressure that should be fine, although a higher pressure supply should be less affected by using other taps.